Labour wants “big conversation” on early years as new data shows impact of Conservative cuts to Sure Start centres

Today [Friday] Labour is launching a programme of engagement events on early years to talk to families about the importance of early education and childcare services, as new data shows the Conservatives have slashed spending on Sure Start children’s centres and children under five by 40 per cent since 2015.

On a visit to a London Early Years Foundation (LEYF) nursery with London Mayor and Shadow Education Secretary Kate Green MP, Shadow Early Years Minister Tulip Siddiq MP will speak about how she wants a “big conversation” on early years, as part of Labour’s Bright Future Taskforce, working to ensure every child can recover from the pandemic and achieve their potential.

Labour analysis shows that on top of the 12,000 early education and childcare providers that have been lost since 2015, 30,000 more early years providers are at risk of closure within a year.

Millions of parents – particularly mothers – rely on formal childcare in order to work, and Labour analysis shows that 345,000 women would be at risk of losing their jobs if further childcare providers were lost.

Tulip Siddiq MP, Labour’s Shadow Minister for Children and Early Years, said:

“The early years are critical for a child’s development and childcare is a fundamental building block of our economy but, over the last decade, early years services have been neglected.

“This Conservative Government has failed to listen to families who have been unable to get the childcare, early education and wellbeing support they need.

“As we emerge from the pandemic, we need to have a big conversation with the public about how we can rebuild this essential infrastructure.”

Kate Green MP, Labour’s Shadow Education Secretary, said:

“The Conservatives have treated children as an afterthought throughout this pandemic, with had no plan to protect early years providers nor support the families who rely on their vital services.

“Labour wants to see children at the heart of our national recovery.

“Through engagement with parents, providers, children and experts our Bright Future Taskforce will develop a national strategy to ensure every child can recover the learning and social development lost during the pandemic and has the chance to reach their full potential.”

June O’Sullivan, CEO of London Early Years Foundation which runs the Harrow Road Nursery & Pre-School, said:

“Nurseries are important for two reasons. Firstly, they support children’s learning, especially those who are disadvantaged and secondly, they provide a vital infrastructure to the economy by allowing parents to go to work. This is especially pertinent if we are to help people out of poverty.

“Yet for many years, families have been so very badly let down by consecutive governments that have all talked about the importance of the Early Years and access to high quality affordable childcare, yet no one is prepared to fund it properly. This is despite the raft of research which shows how important it is to a child's long-term educational success.

“We welcome the launch of this 'big conversation' and an actionable strategy that ensures every child can recover from the pandemic and reach their full potential.”

Ends

Notes to editors

• Recent government data shows that “The total expenditure by local authorities in the financial year 2019-20, on Sure Start children's centres and children under five was £560 million. This is a decrease of six per cent from the 2018-19 figure of £590 million. LA expenditure on this category has decreased each year since 2014-15.”
  https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/la-and-school-expenditure/2019-20

Total expenditure by LAs on Sure Start children's centres and other spend on children under 5 (in millions of £)

Source: 'S251 Children and Young People's Services (National, Regional, LA levels)' from 'LA and school expenditure'

https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/b7901846-8c02-4083-b657-b87b73a48f02

• Labour’s Bright Future Taskforce was launched in March to develop a national strategy to ensure all children recover the learning and social development lost during the pandemic and have the chance to reach their full potential: https://labour.org.uk/bright-future-taskforce-2/

• A report by the Sutton Trust from 2018 found that more than 1,000 children’s centres might have closed since 2009.
  https://www.suttontrust.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/StopStart-FINAL.pdf

• Ofsted statistics show that there were 12,000 fewer childcare providers in England in August 2020 than in March 2015.
  https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/early-years-and-childcare-statistics

• Department for Education survey data from December 2020, that 44% of childminders and 53% of group based childcare providers were not confident they would be financially sustainable to continue operating for another year or longer. 24% of childminders and 26% of group based childcare providers were not confident they could continue operating until at least July 2021. (Source: Survey of Childcare and Early Years Providers and Coronavirus (COVID19) – Wave 3, Research report, March 2021)
  https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/970792/SCEYP_COVID-19_Wave3_Main_Report_170321_2.pdf

• Analysis of this DfE data shows that 30,838 providers considered themselves at risk:

• As of 31st August 2020, there were 36,600 childminders, 27,600 providers of childcare in non-domestic premises and 200 providers in domestic premises registered with Ofsted. If providers close at the levels projected by the DfE survey, over 371,000 jobs would be at risk.
  https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/childcare-providers-and-inspections-as-at-31-august-2020/main-findings-childcare-providers-and-inspections-as-at-31-august-2020

• Women make up 93% of the childcare workforce. In 2018, there were 91,000 childminders and 625,000 workers in group based provision

Source: https://epi.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/The-early-years-workforce-in-England_EPI.pdf

• Disadvantaged pupils are 18 months behind at GCSE a gap which had not narrowed in five years even before the pandemichttps://epi.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/EPI_2020_Annual_Report_.pdf

• Considering the impacts of the pandemic, the Education Endowment Foundation research found that disadvantaged year two pupils were seven months behind their peers in November 2020.

https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/news/eef-publishes-new-research-on-the-impact-of-covid-19-partial-school-closures/

• The event is taking place at a Nursery in Westminster, where the Labour frontbenchers will be joined by Mayor of London Sadiq Khan and local Greater London Authority candidate Rita Begum.

Media are invited to join the visit, for further details contact press@labour.org.uk

• London Early Years Foundation (LEYF) is one of the UK’s largest and most successful charitable social enterprises, operating 42 award-winning nurseries in some of London’s most disadvantaged areas with 32% of its children on a funded-only nursery place.